In Focus This Week
I. In Focus This Week
William & Mary hosts election law symposium
Symposium features war game simulating election security dispute
By Anna McMullen ’18;
Rebecca Green and Amy McDowell, Election Law Program Co-Directors; and
Reiko Dogu, ELP Program Manager
Forward by Tammy Patrick of The Democracy Fund
A wise man once said that election administrators need to also be IT Managers; I think he would agree that in the current climate they also need to be security experts.
Election professionals have increased the focus of their attention to security issues since the 2016 election cycle given the knowledge of increased threats from nation-state adversaries. “Threat-landscape”, “penetration testing”, and a slew of new initialisms and acronyms are now part of the election administrator’s lexicon.
The good news is that there is support from all levels of government, as well as the non-profit and for-profit sectors, in ensuring that our democratic processes are protected.
Yet, there has been one area that had not garnered as much attention until last week: that of statutory/legal coverage, precedence, and the availability of what guidance an election official has at their disposal should they find that their system was attacked.
Do our existing laws provide a clear path forward should an attack be successful?
How do contingency plans and state of emergency statutes speak to this issue, if at all?
Who is responsible and authorized to make certain decisions about the protection of our systems?
These questions, and more, were contemplated last week at the William and Mary Law School event.
12th Annual Election Law Symposium
Election Data Security: Testing the Critical Infrastructure Designation
On April 12, the William & Mary Election Law Program hosted a unique symposium aimed at expanding understanding of the role of courts in promoting election security. The symposium focused specifically on the critical infrastructure designation pursuant to the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2014.
Following opening remarks by Symposium student Co-Chairs Camden Kelliher ’21 and Alexis Dalton ’20, the event kicked off with a war game simulating an election security dispute in the fictional state of “Flichigan.” The law of Flichigan combined the Virginia election code with provisions from the Michigan state constitution as the basis for the exercise.
In the fictional scenario, Flichigan experienced a hack of its voter registration database in Flichigan’s most populous county, Bayne County. The hack occurred several weeks prior to Flichigan’s U.S. Senate primary elections in August 2018. The hacker changed registration information of roughly one hundred Flichigan voters, resulting in mass confusion at Bayne County polling places on the day of the primary. Bayne County election officials worked to efficiently resolve the matter by issuing provisional ballots and engaging in an audit process following the primary to ensure an accurate count. The winning candidate won in a landslide.
As the November general election approached, Secretary of State John Ruth—the state’s chief election official—hired an outside vendor to audit the security of the state’s election system. Secretary Ruth immediately implemented all recommendations that the vendor made. On this basis, Secretary Ruth believed that the necessary steps were taken to ensure the general election would be secure. Mary Barrett, General Registrar of Bayne County, was not convinced. She invoked a federal statute that enables non-federal entities to request that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conduct a security assessment.
Because, as of January 2017, elections are designated as critical infrastructure to be afforded special protection under the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2014, DHS gave priority to Barrett’s request. Barrett requested specifically that DHS conduct a security audit of Bayne’s voter registration system, a request that would require the cooperation of the Secretary of State in providing access to DHS. Secretary Ruth, skeptical of federal meddling in state election matters and concerned that such access could subject Bayne data to enhanced risk, refused DHS access to Bayne County’s voter registration system. In response, Registrar Barrett sought a writ of mandamus to compel Secretary Ruth’s cooperation, a request which a Flichigan trial court denied. Registrar Barrett immediately appealed, leading to the oral argument at the Election Law Symposium’s war game: Bayne v. Ruth.
Venable political law attorney Meredith McCoy ’12 argued before the bench as counsel for Bayne County’s General Registrar. John Davisson of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) (an organization on the forefront of advocating for voter privacy) argued on behalf of Secretary Ruth.
The mock judges presiding over the argument were Edgardo Cortes, Former Commissioner for the Virginia Department of Elections and current advisor on cybersecurity and elections at the Brennan Center; David Becker, Executive Director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research; and Mark Listes, Policy Counsel at the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.
Ms. McCoy argued that Bayne County should be permitted to request DHS assistance because the Flichigan statute places the authority over voter registration and list maintenance processes with county election officials. State statute also organized Flichigan’s electoral process in a decentralized manner; each county has its own Board of Elections with decision-making authority. McCoy highlighted local registrars’ authority with several examples that demonstrated that the state’s chief election official serves a guiding role, but lacks authority to compel local registrar action under the state statutory scheme.
McCoy argued that the appeal centered on voter registration, a responsibility of Flichigan counties, as opposed to election purity which is a state responsibility. McCoy emphasized the importance of a decentralized election system, arguing that such a system promotes election security because there is no central location or single security protocol that a would-be hacker could access, thus compromising all state voter data. McCoy argued that Congress’ decision to provide “non-federal entities” with the opportunity to request assistance from DHS overrode the Secretary of State’s refusal to comply.
On behalf of Secretary Ruth, Mr. Davisson argued that the Flichigan chief election official, not local registrars, is responsible for ensuring Flichigan elections are secure and is thus the only person with authority to request the DHS audit. Davisson maintained that Congress, when it passed the National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2014, never intended to empower local registrars to request assistance from DHS. That power, Davisson advocated, more naturally falls to the state’s chief election official who is responsible for maintaining the statewide voter registration database. Davisson conceded that Flichigan statute delegated to local registrars supervisory power over voter registration lists in their own counties, but nevertheless asserted that since the state maintained the centralized voter registration database, the Secretary of State should make all decisions related to its security.
After argument concluded, the panel retired to deliberate, returning a 2-1 verdict in favor of the state and denying the writ of mandamus.
The majority agreed with the Secretary of State that security should be handled centrally, not locally. They asserted that local registrars’ state constitutional duty to maintain “the purity of elections” extended to maintenance and upkeep of the voter registration records but did not extend to making unilateral cybersecurity decisions. The dissent agreed with the Registrar’s argument that maintenance of the voter records indicated an implicit duty to ensure data security.
“I think it’s very difficult to make the case that anyone in the…local jurisdictions has the right at any point in time to tell a federal agency to come in and scan a state-owned system,” Mock Judge Becker opined. “I think you need to show extraordinary need for that…. So ultimately I didn’t see any extraordinary need there to impose federal jurisdiction over a state.”
Following the war game, William & Mary Professor Rebecca Green, who co-directs the Election Law Program, moderated a debrief of the trial, during which questions arose regarding the realism and scale of the fictional scenario. Questions also delved into real-life election security issues.
Green asked the mock judges to weigh in on the question of partisanship. What if Secretary Ruth and Registrar Barrett belonged to different political parties, a fact that might give the appearance that partisan politics drove their decision-making? How should judges navigate politically-charged disputes when it comes to election security? The mock judges pushed back, noting that election officials are accustomed to working in hyper-partisan environments every day. Professionalism would therefore dictate that state and local officials would focus intently on the shared goal of securing the state’s elections, despite differences on how to accomplish this goal. The war game, after all, featured no bad actors or villains (besides the hacker!) Both Secretary Ruth and Registrar Barrett sought to secure Flichigan elections—they just had different opinions on how to get there.
Green also noted the recent real-life ransomware attack in Atlanta that locked city employees out of all municipal computer systems. Hackers threatened to delete the city’s data unless the city paid $51,000 to the hackers. Green wondered, if a ransomware attack hit a state’s election system, should the federal government step in to help? Quoting an Obama cybersecurity official who suggested that “expecting every state and local government system to be able to go up against nation-state actors is … patently ridiculous,” Green questioned whether election security is in fact best addressed at the state and local level or whether there should be a greater federal role. Participants responded by noting that communication is key. DHS and state and local officials have worked diligently to open lines of communication to allow nimble response to threats that can incorporate federal expertise as needed.
Another point explored was the hot button issue of voter privacy and how best to protect voter data if the federal government becomes involved in an election security issue. Mr. Davisson, counsel for EPIC, raised the concern that voters submit their information to the state for purposes of participating in democratic processes. He cautioned that exposing voter data to the federal government could subject that data to use for other purposes. With this point in mind, the panel discussed how, in most states, voter data is publicly available to campaigns, to get-out-the-vote organizations, and others. Allowing voter data to be accessed through a public records search serves an important policy goal of enhancing public trust in election administration, increasing participation, and providing an oversight mechanism to ensure that the data is accurate. While panelists agreed on this basic proposition that voter data should be accessible, there was less agreement on the question of who ultimately “owns” voter data—voters themselves, local registrars, or the state?
The symposium concluded with a panel discussion focused on election security and the courts. Moderator Tammy Patrick of the Democracy Fund, Kemba Walden of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Joseph Lorenzo Hall of the Center for Democracy & Technology, joined the discussion. Walden noted that this scenario is very relevant to the question of DHS involvement and explained that when DHS receives a request for assistance, it verifies that all necessary consent is obtained from the proper authorities prior to proceeding. Walden also clarified the effect of a critical infrastructure designation. As discussed, requests to protect critical infrastructure rise to the top of the list of DHS priorities. For his part, Joe Hall also emphasized the importance of security surrounding voter registration information. He explained that voter registration information is very useful in the de-anonymization of other records. For example, anonymized medical records are sometimes shared publicly for use in research. These records have many pieces of personal data removed to hide the identity of patients. Voter registration information can be used to repopulate that personal data and has been used in some instances to identify patients. Therefore, the security of state voter registration databases is of paramount importance to individual privacy interests.
In all, the Symposium highlighted numerous core challenges that face election administrators as they work to secure U.S. elections in 2018 and beyond. What was clear from the assembled gathering is that a lot of smart minds are on the job.
Video of the oral argument portion of the war game is available here.
The William & Mary Election Law Program and its student arm, the Election Law Society, joined with the William & Mary Student Bar Association to host the event. The Election Law Program is a joint initiative of the William & Mary Law School and the National Center for State Courts. This is the twelfth annual symposium sponsored by the program.
Federal-State Updates
II. Federal-State Updates
In keynote remarks at a cybersecurity conference in San Francisco, Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen warned the Russians and other countries looking to interfere in the U.S. election.
“The United States, as you know, possesses a spectrum of response options both seen and unseen, and we will use them to call out malign behavior, punish it and deter future cyber hostility,” Nielsen said, according to The Hill.
“Our cyber defenses help guard our very democracy and all we hold dear. To those who would try to attack our democracy to affect our elections, to affect the elections of our allies, to undermine our national sovereignty, I have a simple word of warning: Don’t.”
Election News This Week
III. Election News This Week
This week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that he would use his executive authority to restore the voting rights of formerly incarcerated residents who are still on parole or probation. The decision will restore voting rights to approximately 35,000 people. According to The New York Times, the move amounts to a legal sidestep of the Legislature which has opposed restoring the voting rights of ex-felons. “I’m unwilling to take no for an answer,” Mr. Cuomo said. “I’m going to make it law by executive order,” he added, continuing, “With active intervention, we can bend the arc toward justice.”
Sacramento and Fresno counties in California will both now be required to provide ballots and other voting materials in Hmong. Cha Vang, executive director of the Hmong Initiative said that in the past some Hmong speakers had been reluctant to participate in elections because of the language barrier. “These new changes will empower first-time voters, further educate experienced voters and creates a climate that encourages civic participation,” Vang told CBS 13.
Late last week, Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Robert Torres announced that all counties will be required to have new voting systems with a paper trail by December 31, 2019. It’s expected to cost between $95 million and $153 million although spokeswoman Wanda Murren told Penn Live the state hopes to lower the costs by offering volume purchasing options through a state program, grants and other strategies. Philadelphia has said they will not be able to meet the 2020 deadline.
Steubenville police have recovered a bullet that was fired through a window at the Jefferson County, Ohio board of elections last week. According to the Herald-Star, Diane Gribble, county board of elections director, said there was a loud noise around 4:10 p.m. on April 12 and a board employee said he thought something had come through the south ground-floor window. She said police were notified and responded, with officers finding a hole in a wall in the computer server room. Bulletproof glass will be installed in some windows at the BOE and security around the building will be increased.
Personnel News: Christopher Wlaschin, former chief information security officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the new vice president of systems security at ES&S. Longtime Utah County Clerk/Auditor Bryan Thompson was ousted from his position at the Utah County Republican nominating convention. Barbara Jackson McIntosh has resigned as the chairwoman of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Joint Board of Elections. Daniel Teed is the new Navarro County, Texas elections administrator. Dustin Chase is the new communications director for the Pinellas County, Florida supervisor of elections office. Congratulations to Tiana Epps-Johnson of the Center for Technology and Civic Life for being chosen to be one of the inaugural Obama Fellows. Marshall County, Alabama Revenue Commissioner Michael Johnson has announced his candidacy for secretary of state. Jocelyn Bucaro is stepping down from the Butler County, Ohio board of elections to take a job working for Denver elections.
Legislative Updates
IV. Legislative Updates
Arizona: The Maricopa County board of supervisors has unanimously approved a request from the county recorder’s office for $4 million to pay for additional election technology.
Arkansas: Rep. Gred Leding (D-Fayetteville) plans to introduce legislation in the 2019 session, that if approved would lower the state’s voting age to 17. The state currently allows those who are 17 but will be 18 by the time of the general election to vote. This would allow all 17-year-olds to vote.
Illinois: State Rep. Juliana Stratton (D-Springfield) has introduced a bill that would require jails to offer voter registration forms and make voting available to eligible prisoners. The bill was approved by the House Elections & Campaign Finance Committee and now moves to the full house.
Louisiana: By a 53 to 35 vote, the House has defeated a proposal that would have given released felons serving parole or probation to cast a ballot.
Michigan: The House Elections and Ethics Committee has approved a bill that would allow Michigan to offer online voter registration. The bill was previously approved by the Senate. It now moves to the full House.
Minnesota: The city of St. Louis Park has is one step closer to moving to a ranked choice voting system for upcoming local elections. The city council voted unanimously Monday to amend its charter to move to the different method of counting municipal ballots. If council members vote unanimously after a second reading on May 7, ranked-choice voting could become effective in the city by August.
New Jersey: The Garden State has joined a growing list of states approving automatic voter registration. The bill was approved 50-23 in the Assembly and 24-13 in the Senate. Under the bill, any resident who does business with the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles or any other state agency including the Office of Disability Services, Infants and Children and the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, and the Parole Board, once paroles complete their sentences.
North Dakota: Cass County commissioners have voted to keep polling place hours the same —7am to 8pm — for the 2018 election cycle. Commissioners had considered closing polling places at 7pm.
Ohio: By 32-1, the Senate has approved Senate Bill 135 which would provide $114.5 million to replace voting machines statewide. The bill also would create a bipartisan committee to advise the secretary of state and the Department of Administrative Services about funding and acquiring new voting machines.
Utah: A new Utah law will allow 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the time of general election to vote in the primary.
Legal Updates
V. Legal Updates
Kansas: U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson found Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach in contempt of court. In her ruling, Robinson referred to Kobach as disingenuous and according to the Kansas City Star, she chastised him for failing to treat the voters in the ongoing case the same as all other registered voters in accordance with a previous court order.
Louisiana: The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Baton Rouge has upheld a lower court’s ruling that the state law that prohibits felons on parole on probation from voting does not violate the state’s constitution. Felons on parole or probation are still in a “custodial” setting and still serving part of a criminal sentence, Judge Toni Higginbotham wrote in the main opinion, joined by Judge Allison Penzato. “Plaintiffs’ understanding of the constitutional phrase as meaning only physical imprisonment would lead to absurd results, because it disregards that a person can legally be under an order of imprisonment without being physically in prison.” Higginbotham wrote.
Maine: The state’s highest court heard oral arguments about the implementation of the voter-approved ranked-choice voting in time for the upcoming June primaries. According to Maine Public Radio, during a 35-minute hearing, nearly all seven justices appeared skeptical of the Republicans’ arguments, and some wondered why the court was asked to solve a problem that Legislature wouldn’t, or couldn’t. On Tuesday, the court ruled that the law should stand for the June elections.
Michigan: Former Macomb County Clerk Karen Spranger is appealing the ruling of St. Clair County Judge Daniel Kelly that removed Spranger from her role as clerk. Spranger was found guilty of lying about her residency on her election paperwork.
Missouri: The ACLU, on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Missouri and the Kansas City-area chapter of the AFL-CIO has sued the state claiming that the Department of Revenue is not automatically updating voter registration after address changes and is not providing registration information to all voters.
Mississippi: Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann is requesting that two lawsuits, one filed by the Mississippi Center for Justice and the other by the Southern Poverty Law Center be merged since both are seeking the same thing — to restore voting rights to ex-felons.
New York: An appeals court has ruled that the state’s Freedom of Information Law covers the electronically scanned images of ballots taken from voting machines. The state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, Third Department made the decision in the case of Kosmider v. Whitney. Essex County was sued after a FOIL request by Essex County Democratic Committee Chairwoman Bethany Kosmider to see the cast-vote records from the 2015 election was denied.
Texas: Visiting Judge Martin Lowy certified six more ballots in the contested GOP primary in Kaufman County. However, after the certification, Lowy declared that voting improprieties in the court-at-law race proved in the case left no way to determine a true winner and a special election should be held.
U.S. Virgin Islands: The government of the USVI has sued the territorial elections board in Superior Court claiming that the board has violated the territory’s election laws. According to the Virgin Islands Daily News, a complaint filed in Superior Court by Assistant Attorney General Ariel Smith, the board has violated the requirements of territorial law by failing to meet as a single board, and by failing to elect board officers, as required by Act 7982. The lawsuit seeks a declaration from a judge that the members of the district boards failed to follow the law, Smith wrote.
Virginia: J. Christian Adams, a former member of the disbanded presidential election commission has been sued by a group of plaintiffs lead by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. The suit alleges that Adams inaccurately accused hundreds of Virginians of illegally registering to vote.
Tech Thursday
VI. Tech Thursday
Georgia: Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R) has announced the formation of a bipartisan commission of lawmakers, political party leaders, election officials and voters to recommend a new voting system for the state. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the group will review options including paper ballots and electronic voting machines with a verifiable paper trail. The commission will evaluate costs, solicit comments from the public and hold meetings across the state before making suggestions for the Georgia General Assembly to consider next year.
Opinions This Week
VII. Opinions This Week
National Opinions: Voting technology | Cybersecurity| Voter suppression
California: Youth registration
Florida: Jim Crow laws | Ex-felon voting rights, II
Illinois: Election security
Indiana: Voter ID
Iowa: Paper ballots
Louisiana: Ex-felon voting rights
New Jersey: Automatic voter registration, II, III, IV
New Mexico: Ranked choice voting
Pennsylvania: Voter access
Texas: Election security
West Virginia: Voter registration | Cable County
Upcoming Events
VIII. Upcoming Events
Ranked Choice Voting and Voting Systems Online Symposium — Join election administrators, elected and government officials, voting systems representatives, and RCV proponents for this online symposium focused on: Best practices and case studies for ranked choice voting (RCV) presented by some of the country’s leading election experts; Presentations from the nation’s voting system vendors about their latest voting systems and RCV capabilities; Discussions about RCV and the process for implementing by election administrators who have administered this voting method. There will be 10 free sessions in two days. You must register for each session individually. When: April 23-24. Where: Online.
Election Center Special Workshop — The focus of this workshop will be Preparing for the Unexpected in the Voter Registration and Election Office. In addition, to the topics covered in the special workshop, several core curriculum in election administration and voter registration will be offered. When: April 25-29. Where: Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Election Center Professional Program Special Session — During May’s special session, the following core curriculum in election administration and voter registration will be offered: Enfranchisement, Enhancement & Enforcement – Modern Federal Election Law and Regulation: 1965-Present; Constitutions, Courts and Cases to 1965 – Early America to 1965 with focus on State and U.S. Constitutions; History I: Ancients to 17891; and History II: 1781 to Modern Era. When: May 7-12. Where: Auburn, Alabama.
2018 Election Mail Forum — The National Postal Forum will hold a one-day Election Mail Forum. At the forum, participants will hear from speakers, attend panel discussions on the Intelligent Mail barcode and discover how the USPS can be an election mail partner and how this can help better serve voters. Where: San Antonio, Texas. When: May 8.
Cybersecurity Online Training Series — The Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) is partnering with the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) to deliver a new cybersecurity training series designed for election officials this July. The series will include 3 courses that will empower your election office to manage cyber threats and communicate with the public about cybersecurity. After completing the series, you’ll have more confidence to safeguard against and respond to cyber threats in your election office. When: July 10, July 24 and July 31. Where: Online.
NASS 2018 Summer Conference — Mark your calendars now for the National Association of Secretaries of State 2018 summer conference in the City of Brotherly Love. Check back soon for more information about the agenda. When: July 13-16. Where: Philadelphia.
2018 NASED Summer Meeting — Mark your calendars now for the National Association of State Election Directors’ 2018 summer meeting in the City of Brotherly Love. Check back soon for more information about the agenda. When: July 13-16. Where: Philadelphia.
NACo Annual Conference and Exposition — Mark your calendars now for the National Association of Counties Annual Conference and Exposition in Music City. Check back soon for more information about the agenda. When: July 13-16. Where: Nashville, Tennessee.
2018 iGo Annual Conference — Mark your calendars now for the International Association of Government Officials 2018 Annual Conference in The Biggest Little City in the World! Check back soon for more information about the agenda. When: July 16-21. Where: Reno, Nevada.
Election Sciences Reform and Administration (ESRA) — The conference brings together political scientists and other experts in election administration to develop rigorous empirical approaches to the study of how law and administrative procedures affect the quality of elections in the United States. Participants will identify major questions in the field, share new insights, foster collaboration between election administrators and election scientists, and connect senior and junior scholars. When: July 26 and 27. Where: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Job Postings This Week
IX. Job Postings This Week
electionlineWeekly publishes election administration job postings each week as a free service to our readers. To have your job listed in the newsletter, please send a copy of the job description, including a web link to mmoretti@electionline.brinkdev.com. Job postings must be received by 5pm on Wednesday in order to appear in the Thursday newsletter. Listings will run for three weeks or till the deadline listed in the posting.
Customer Support Consultant, Hart InterCivic— Hart InterCivic is looking to add a Customer Support Consultant to our team. A Hart Customer Support Consultant is a great listener and communicator who responds to requests for assistance from Hart InterCivic customers for all Hart InterCivic products. The primary responsibilities for this position are to answer, resolve and route customer queries (usually by phone or email), work with customers in a professional manner and read and interpret documents such as user guides and training manuals and translate the information to the customer in a manner which they can understand. We are looking for individuals who have technical skills, have been in support roles in the past and, preferably, have elections experience. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Elections and Voter Services Manager, Montana Secretary of State’s Office — this position serves as the Manager of the Elections and Voter Services Division and reports to the Elections and Voter Services Director for the Office of the Secretary of State. This position is responsible for ensuring the integrity of elections, aligning resources with the strategic direction of the Elections and Voter Services Division, interpreting state election laws and ensuring implementation uniformly throughout the state, and interpreting, analyzing, drawing conclusions, identifying trends, and presenting voting data. This position supervises three positions within the Division and is responsible for all aspects of performance management. Salary: $75,000. Deadline: Open until filled: Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Embedded System Software Engineer, Clear Ballot — Clear Ballot is looking for a talented Software Engineer who wants to bring their technical skills to bear on a hugely consequential problem. The successful candidate will build and enhance full software stack of highly available applications using primarily Python that interface with front-end web applications implemented in JavaScript and HTML5. The application software deploys on OEM based hardware, with optical scanner, battery backup, and full touchscreen UI, running a custom configured version of Linux OS. The ideal candidate should have strong technical skills, solid understanding of developing for embedded systems, a good working knowledge of the Linux architecture, and software integration with OEM hardware devices. You will be working with a small team of highly skilled individuals to build and enhance a platform that is changing the elections industry. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Field Sales Director, Hart InterCivic — the Field Sales Director works primarily on the road and from a home office when he/she is not on business travel. The Field Sales Director is responsible for creating news sales with prospects and existing clients in a defined region. Today, this role is a single contributor and does not directly manage people. This position will report to the VP of Sales. Application: For the complete job listing an to apply, click here.
Field Support Engineer (Ohio), Clear Ballot — Oversee and perform installation, configuration and maintenance of Ubuntu servers and Windows desktop and laptop machines, local area network, related equipment and devices; become expert at installation and configuration of Clear Ballot Group software; respond to end user reported incidents, create and track incidents in a ticketing system; daily interaction with both local and remote users for needs gathering and problem analysis; provides technical leadership on a variety of highly specialized project-related activities requiring expertise in specific scientific/technical areas for digital voting systems. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Full Stack Principal Software Engineer, Clear Ballot— Clear Ballot is looking for an accomplished Principal Software Engineer who wants to bring their technical and leadership skills to bear on a hugely consequential problem: Bringing transparency to democratic elections. The successful candidate will have the ability to look at the bigger picture and deal with complex and competing requirements to design effective solutions. Extensive knowledge of and experience with large data structures and algorithms will be key. The backend implemented in Python and uses a SQL data base. The front end is implemented in JavaScript, Node.js and HTML5. The ideal candidate should have strong technical and leadership skills and a good working knowledge of the latest concepts in security, performance, and resilience. You will be working with a small team of highly skilled individuals to build and enhance a platform that is changing the elections industry. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Full Stack Software Developer, Clear Ballot— Clear Ballot is looking for a talented Software Engineer who wants to bring their technical skills to bear on a hugely consequential problem. The successful candidate will build and enhance enterprise-level, highly available applications using primarily Python and MySQL that interface with frontend web applications implemented in JavaScript, Node.js and HTML5. The ideal candidate should have strong technical skills and a good working knowledge of the latest concepts in performance, security and resilience. One of the hallmarks of our system is its emphasis on new visualization techniques made possible by sophisticated data structures that enable high-performance in a multi-user environment. You will be working with a small team of highly skilled individuals to build and enhance a platform that is changing the elections industry. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Full-Stack Software Engineer, Clear Ballot — Clear Ballot is looking for a talented Software Engineer who wants to bring their technical skills to bear on a hugely consequential problem – to modernize America’s voting systems and to bring transparency to democratic elections. The successful candidate will build and enhance enterprise-level, highly available applications using primarily Python and MySQL that interface with frontend web applications implemented in JavaScript, Node.js and HTML5. The ideal candidate should have strong technical skills and a good working knowledge of the latest concepts in performance, security and resilience. One of the hallmarks of our system is its emphasis on new visualization techniques made possible by sophisticated data structures that enable high-performance in a multi-user environment. You will be working with a small team of highly skilled individuals to build and enhance a platform that is changing the elections industry. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Operations Technician, Clear Ballot — the Operations Technician’s primary duty is preparing, installing software, staging, and shipping equipment to customers. Additionally, the position manages an internal IT network and maintains inventory of company equipment. The successful candidate has all or some combination of experience with hands on hardware and software integration, IT, project management, procurement, logistics, and inventory management. This position reports to the Director of Field Operations. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Product Manager, Clear Ballot — the Product Manager position is a member of the Clear Ballot Product team. At Clear Ballot, the Product team is the hub around which all other functions orbit. The team manages the company’s product planning and feedback cycle, interacting and collaborating regularly with Customer Success, Engineering, Business Development, Compliance/Certification, Field Operations, and Executive Management. Clear Ballot Product Managers work on a multi-disciplinary product team which is assigned one of more of Clear Ballot products. As the customer representative on the product team, the Product Manager creates, prioritizes and represents product requirements to the product team. The Product Manager also the product team’s representative to stakeholders inside and outside of the organization. The Product Manager is often working with prospects and clients to gain insight, vet ideas, and present solutions. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Senior Manager, Technical Product Support (Denver, CO) – Dominion Voting Systems — Dominion Voting Systems is seeking a tech-savvy, passionate Senior Manager, Technical Product Support to join our team in Denver, CO! This position is responsible for strategically leading and developing a multi-state team of election technology software and hardware Product Specialists through a number of critical projects throughout the Western United States. Salary: Negotiable base + bonus & benefits. Deadline: Open until filled. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Senior Technical Trainer, Clear Ballot — training courses and learning materials support users whose skills range the technical spectrum and include laypersons (pollworkers), election officials, and system administrators. Our small and growing documentation and training team has an immediate need for a new member with intermediate-to-senior experience in: Instructional design; Development of learning curricula; Production of training materials; Hands-on, customer facing training. Generally, the training department, technical staff, and operations staff provide training at the customer’s site. We need an instructional designer and trainer who can analyze the learners and materials, and establish an appropriately targeted learning program. The opportunity exists to develop computer based training as an enhancement to our learning curriculum. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
State Election Technology Associate, Clear Ballot— our growing team has an immediate need for a new member to manage testing, approval and certification campaigns of election technology in new states. This position works directly with State Government to test and approve voting systems. Certification and approval is key to success in the election systems domain. Diplomacy and empathy alongside professional and tactful communications are key contributors to smooth state certification campaigns of new election technology. All voting system components (ballot layout, in-person voting, absentee voting, results reporting and audit) and their associated documentation are certified by state agencies; evaluation is performed by demanding government laboratories. Requirements vary across the States; and these requirements are found in statute, Rule, by written and oral tradition, and sometimes are ambiguous and even unwritten. Attention to detail is paramount to success. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
Systems Engineer, Clear Ballot — We are looking for a talented Systems Engineer who has both a technical and services/support background which enables them to quickly assess customer needs and offer value to Clear Ballot’s customers. The Systems Engineer will gain a deep understanding of how Clear Ballot’s products operate and their optimal configuration to build a streamlined installation process of the Clear Vote election system. The ideal candidate for this position can prioritize mission critical tasks and coordinate the implementation and expansion of our systems. They will be able to work directly with customers, display innovation, think conceptually and act tactically to build consensus around system installation and enhancement and meet deadlines. Application: For the complete job listing and to apply, click here.
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